Wagering requirements: work out your bonus playthrough
Wagering requirements set the qualifying play needed to release a bonus or its linked winnings for withdrawal. Multiply the stated base by the wager: a €100 bonus at x35 needs €3,500 of credited playthrough. Game contribution can change how much you must actually stake.
Start with the amount the multiplier applies to. A bonus, your deposit plus the bonus, and winnings from free spins can produce very different targets. Once you have that base, the calculation is straightforward; the remaining decision is whether the permitted games, funding rules and time window fit the way you want to play.
The calculation starts with the base
Wagering calculator
- Required credited turnover
- Nominal eligible stakes
Display values may be rounded; the calculation uses full precision. Total eligible stakes are not a deposit requirement, expected loss or guaranteed payout. Maximum bets, exclusions and deadlines still apply.
Required credited turnover = qualifying base × wagering multiplier.
Nominal eligible stakes = credited turnover ÷ contribution fraction. At 20% contribution, divide by 0.20.
- Bonus only
- €100 × 35 = €3,500
Hypothetical bonus base; full contribution.
- Deposit plus bonus
- (€100 + €100) × 35 = €7,000
Hypothetical combined base; full contribution.
- Free-spin winnings
- €12 × 20 = €240
Hypothetical actual winnings; full contribution.
The examples use euros as a unit of calculation. The same arithmetic works with PLN or another account currency; it does not convert currencies or establish the terms of a particular account.
Bonus only: €100 × 35 = €3,500
A hypothetical €100 cash bonus with x35 wagering on the bonus amount creates a €3,500 credited-turnover target. The deposit that earned the bonus is outside this base. If the deposit was also €100, you still multiply €100, not €200.
The bonus amount is the starting value specified by the promotion. A win during play does not automatically create a fresh €3,500 target, and a loss does not automatically reduce the original one. Use a changing balance as the base only when the offer explicitly says to do so.
Deposit plus bonus: (€100 + €100) × 35 = €7,000
For a different hypothetical offer, x35 applies to both the €100 deposit and €100 bonus. Add them first, then multiply the €200 base by 35. This doubles the requirement to €7,000 despite the identical x35 headline.
The €100 deposit in this example is an input to the calculation. The €7,000 result is the total credited stakes needed across play; it does not instruct you to deposit €7,000. The exact rules also decide whether cash stakes, bonus stakes or both advance that target.
Free-spin winnings: €12 × 20 = €240
When the requirement applies to winnings from promotional free spins, finish the spins and use their actual total winnings. Hypothetical winnings of €12 at x20 produce €240 in required credited playthrough.
Neither the number of spins nor an assumed cash value belongs in that multiplication. A package of 100 spins does not mean a €100 base. If the spins win a different amount, the calculation changes with that amount. Also separate promotional free spins awarded by a casino from a free-spins feature won inside a slot: the casino promotion's conditions determine whether a bonus wagering requirement exists.
What x10 or x35 means
The x sign means multiplication. At full contribution, x10 on a €100 base means €1,000 in qualifying stakes; x35 on that same base means €3,500. Winning and losing stakes can contribute when they meet the offer's rules, because playthrough measures eligible wagering rather than the amount you win.
Bonus terms may call required wagering rollover or playthrough, and use turnover for the counted stakes. The useful questions stay the same: what amount is multiplied, what counts towards it, and when must it be completed? A standalone phrase such as "35 times" leaves the base unresolved.
That is why comparing multipliers alone gives a poor picture of an offer. Even a smaller multiplier can create more playthrough when it applies to a larger base or when your chosen game contributes less.
A stake can count in full, in part or not at all
Hypothetical eligible stakes at the stated constant contribution. These amounts are turnover, not a required deposit or predicted loss.
- 100% contribution
- €10 stake → €10 credited
€3,500 of stakes meets a €3,500 target.
- 20% contribution
- €10 stake → €2 credited
€17,500 of stakes meets a €3,500 target.
- 0% contribution
- €10 stake → €0 credited
Does not advance a positive target.
Game contribution is the percentage of an eligible stake credited towards the target. With 100% contribution, a €10 stake reduces the requirement by €10. With 20% contribution, that same €10 stake credits €2. With 0% contribution, it credits nothing.
These are worked contribution examples, not a contribution schedule for a named casino. Do not assume that every slot contributes 100%, or that blackjack, roulette or live games share one standard rate. A promotion can specify individual games as well as game categories.
An excluded game needs an extra distinction. It may simply give no progress, or its use may breach the promotion and affect the bonus. A calculator can model a 0% contribution; it cannot turn a prohibited game into a permitted one. Read the exclusion as an instruction about whether to play, as well as a percentage.
If you switch games, track credited progress
For a hypothetical €3,500 target, €1,000 in stakes at 100% contribution credits €1,000. Another €500 at 20% credits €100. You have €1,100 of credited progress, leaving €2,400.
The total you staked was €1,500. Subtracting that whole amount from the target would overstate progress by €400. To calculate mixed play, multiply the eligible stake total for each contribution rate separately, add the credited amounts, then subtract the result from the original target. Keep the casino's remaining-wager display alongside this calculation, especially if games, currencies or bonus balances are separated.
Turnover, deposit and loss are different amounts
A €3,500 requirement describes total eligible stakes over time. Winning returns can remain in a balance and fund later stakes when the bonus rules permit that balance to be used. This is how turnover can exceed the amount originally deposited.
The total does not tell you how much money will be available after play. A balance can run out before the target is reached; a winning session can leave funds after it. The calculator cannot infer either path from the multiplier.
The €240 free-spin example is particularly easy to misread. It requires €240 of qualifying turnover if the base is €12, the wager is x20 and contribution is full. It is neither a prescribed €240 deposit nor a prediction that €240 will be lost. If the promotion requires real-money stakes, you need cash funds to make those stakes, but the size of a deposit is still a separate question from total turnover.
What RTP can and cannot add to the calculation
RTP is a theoretical return over a large volume of play, rather than the return of an individual session. For a purely hypothetical model with €1,000 of fixed total stakes and a constant 96% RTP, the mathematical expected net gaming loss is €40: €1,000 × (1 − 0.96). That is an average of the model, not a bill for completing a bonus.
The assumption that all €1,000 gets played is doing substantial work. A balance may be exhausted sooner, an offer may restrict the game, and a cashout cap or forfeiture rule can change the value of the eventual bonus. Volatility also changes the range of possible session outcomes. A displayed RTP and wagering multiplier cannot by themselves calculate your chance of completing the requirement or the expected profit from an offer.
Use turnover arithmetic to understand the obligation. Avoid treating an RTP estimate as the deposit you need, a promised loss, or a way to guarantee that the bonus pays more than play costs.
Which balance funds the qualifying stakes?
The calculation base and the balance used to bet are separate conditions. An offer can calculate wagering from free-spin winnings while requiring the qualifying stakes to come from real money. Another can let bonus funds be played and convert an eligible remaining balance after completion. The same x20 label does not explain that difference.
Cash balance contains the funds treated as cash by the account. Bonus balance holds promotional funds or winnings governed by the promotion. "Locked" describes funds that are not yet available for withdrawal; it does not tell you whether those funds can be used to satisfy wagering. Some offers also define the order in which cash and bonus balances are used. That spending order can affect whether a stake counts and what remains when the bonus is cancelled.
For the Vavada GET100 free-spins offer, winnings from the spins go to the bonus balance and must be activated in Bonuses. The x20 requirement applies to their whole amount and is met with real-money slot stakes. Receiving the spins without a deposit and wagering their winnings are two separate stages.
If you intend to use the spin winnings themselves to make the qualifying bets, that offer's real-money funding rule matters more than an attractive spin count. The useful comparison is the complete mechanism: reward, base, permitted funding and conversion into withdrawable funds.
Put two offers on the same basis
Consider two hypothetical bonuses earned from the same €100 deposit, each adding €100. Offer A asks for x20 on deposit plus bonus; Offer B asks for x35 on the bonus alone. Both examples assume 100% contribution and otherwise identical funding rules.
Offer A: x20 on both amounts
€100 deposit + €100 bonus = €200 base.
€200 × 20 = €4,000 credited turnover.
Offer B: x35 on the bonus
€100 deposit + €100 bonus; only the bonus is the base.
€100 × 35 = €3,500 credited turnover.
Offer B's larger multiplier produces €500 less turnover because its base is smaller. This is a comparison of the requirement, not a verdict that B is more profitable. Change the eligible games, permitted balance, cashout cap or deadline and the overall choice can change too.
For a second comparison, keep both base and funding identical: €100 of bonus funds, with all eligible stakes contributing 100%. An x20 requirement is €2,000; x35 is €3,500. Under those equal assumptions, x20 requires less qualifying play. That is the claim the numbers support.
Compare the game you actually intend to use
A hypothetical x20 bonus on a €100 base with 20% contribution needs €10,000 in nominal stakes. An x35 bonus on that same base at 100% needs €3,500. The first offer has a smaller multiplier, yet requires more nominal play on the chosen game.
Write down contribution beside the multiplier before calling a requirement low. There is no universal cutoff at which an offer becomes easy to complete. A requirement is more useful to you when the full calculation and permitted funding match the games and conditions you wanted in the first place.
x0, x1 and the maximum cashout
An x0 or no-wagering condition means there is no bonus playthrough target on the stated amount. It does not, by itself, tell you whether a deposit is needed to claim the offer, which funds are withdrawable, or whether winnings have a maximum cashout. Those are separate terms.
At x1, the base must be played through once. A €100 base with 100% contribution needs €100 in eligible stakes. If only 20% of each stake counts, it needs €500 in nominal stakes. Describing x1 as no wagering would erase that remaining obligation.
A maximum cashout limits the amount eligible to be taken from a promotion. As a hypothetical example, a €50 bonus with x20 wagering needs €1,000 of credited playthrough; a separate €100 cashout cap limits the promotional amount available for withdrawal. Reaching €1,000 of turnover does not remove that cap, and a €100 cap does not reduce the target to €100.
Also keep a bonus cashout cap separate from the account's payout limits. "No bonus cashout cap" can coexist with daily, weekly or monthly withdrawal schedules and payment-method limits. It does not mean that any amount can arrive in your bank account in a single transaction.
Deadlines and maximum bets belong in the decision
The time window sets the period in which the requirement must be completed. Identify the event that starts the clock: receiving an offer, activating the bonus or finishing the spins can be different events. A duration such as 14 days is not enough to calculate an expiry timestamp without the actual start and account time zone.
Keep claim expiry, unused-spin expiry and wagering expiry separate. An offer may have one deadline for entering a code and another for converting the winnings. Starting close to the end of a claim window does not establish an extension of the wagering period.
The maximum bet is the ceiling permitted while the promotion is active. It may refer to the total stake, so added stake features or a bonus purchase need attention when the terms count them towards that limit. A calculation that says €2,000 of playthrough is required gives no permission to place a single €2,000 bet.
For a hypothetical €2,000 target, a €2 stake at 100% contribution would need 1,000 qualifying bets if every bet were permitted and completed. This is a stake-count illustration, not a plan for a session: it does not predict the available balance, results or time required. Raising the stake only reduces the arithmetic count; it can exceed a bonus limit or make a balance run out sooner.
Before accepting an offer, make the conditions concrete:
- Identify the exact base and multiplier for each reward. A cash bonus and its accompanying free spins may have separate requirements.
- Match your chosen games against contribution rates and exclusions. A casino catalogue entry does not establish bonus eligibility.
- Check which balance pays for qualifying stakes, including any cash-first or bonus-first order.
- Read the maximum bet and how stake features, bonus buys or other game options are treated.
- Locate each claim, spin and wagering deadline and the event that starts it.
- Distinguish the bonus conversion or cashout cap from account and payment-method payout limits.
- Find what happens to active bonuses and winnings if you cancel the promotion or request a withdrawal.
This checklist turns "subject to terms" into the specific decisions that change the calculation. If a bonus requires a game or funding method you did not want to use, the reward amount alone is a poor reason to accept it.
Withdrawing or cancelling while a bonus is active
A withdrawal request can affect an active bonus before money is paid out. The offer may forfeit the unused bonus, locked winnings or both; the rules can also differ between withdrawing cash and cancelling a promotion. Do not assume a rejected or cancelled withdrawal automatically restores the promotional balance.
Vavada's active-bonus withdrawal rule is a concrete example: creating a withdrawal request forfeits activated bonuses, even if the request is later rejected. Its free-spin winnings are not available for withdrawal until the x20 requirement is completed; incompletely wagered bonuses are voided on withdrawal. This affects when to request a payout, independently of how the target was calculated.
For an offer you want to cancel, separate three amounts before acting: deposited cash still in the account, the remaining bonus, and winnings governed by that bonus. A Cancel bonus control does not establish that all three are paid back. The terms need to explain which amounts remain and which are forfeited. Cancelling a promotion also does not reverse stakes already played.
When the progress counter does not move
Check the exact promotion that is active, the balance used for the bet, whether the game contributes, and whether the stake has settled. A bet placed with the wrong funds or on an excluded game can produce a result without credited playthrough. In a system that credits settled stakes, an unsettled stake is not yet progress.
Keep the bonus name, game, stake amount, settlement status and displayed remaining requirement together when asking about a missing contribution. Those details identify a particular stake and rule. Repeatedly wagering more money before understanding why progress stopped does not resolve a contribution error.
See the mechanism in Vavada's free-spins offer
- Receive the spins100 spins in original The Dog House; no deposit to receive them.
- Finish and activateThe whole amount won becomes the wagering base.
- Apply ×20A hypothetical €12 win produces €240 credited turnover.
- Use real-money stakesQualifying slot stakes fund the wager; the locked winnings do not.
The €12 result is a worked example, not a promised win or an assumed spin denomination.
- Reward
- 100 free spins
Original The Dog House; code GET100.
- Wagering base
- Whole spin winnings × 20
Qualifying real-money slot stakes.
- Two separate windows
- 24 hours / 14 days
Enter code in Bonuses within 24 hours after registration; 14-day wagering period.
- Code-specific payout cap
- No cap
Account payout limits still apply; a withdrawal request forfeits active bonuses.
Vavada's GET100 offer gives 100 free spins on the original The Dog House without a deposit to receive them. Enter the code in Bonuses within 24 hours after registration. Winnings from those spins have x20 wagering on their whole amount, funded with real-money slot stakes, with a 14-day wagering period. There is no maximum payout imposed by this particular code; account payout limits still apply.
If those spins hypothetically win €12, the base is €12 and the required credited turnover is €240. Activate the winnings in Bonuses; the real-money funding rule means the locked spin winnings are not the funds used to make the qualifying stakes. No €12 result or euro spin denomination is promised by the example.
This offer illustrates a useful distinction: the promotional spins need no deposit to receive, while making the subsequent qualifying stakes requires real funds. It also keeps the code-entry window separate from the wagering period. A withdrawal request while the bonus is active forfeits activated bonuses, including when the request is rejected.
Vavada's first-deposit cash bonus has a separate x35 requirement on the bonus and is wagered in slots. Its general rule caps winnings formed through bonus-money bets at ten times the accrued bonus. That rule must not be substituted for the personal GET100 offer's no-cap condition; the promotions use different balances and conditions.
Read the Vavada bonus page for the claim steps and the same x20 mechanism before choosing the offer. Get bonus
The same code does not give every offer the same wager
The personal GET100 offers at Jet, Play Fortuna and 1xSlots also give 100 free spins, with different conditions. Jet assigns Dragon's Gold 100 and x45 wagering using real money. 1xSlots assigns Cybergirls and x25 wagering using the real-money balance. Play Fortuna assigns Book of Dead and x20; its winnings transfer to the real balance after a deposit and the required turnover. These specific code offers have no code-specific maximum payout.
The x20, x25 and x45 figures belong to those particular offers. They are not universal requirements for each casino or every promotion carrying a similar banner. Equal spin counts also do not establish equal spin values or winnings. Use the exact base and contribution in the selected offer before comparing turnover, and use its funding condition before deciding how to complete it.
Can you beat wagering requirements?
You complete a requirement by making permitted stakes that earn enough credited turnover within its time limit. There is no wagering calculation that guarantees a profit or makes excluded bets count. A lower multiplier reduces the target only when the other inputs and rules are equal.
For an offer you already have, write the base, multiplier and remaining credited turnover together, then calculate contribution for the games you intend to use. Preserve the maximum stake and withdrawal conditions alongside that number. This gives you an understandable obligation; it cannot promise that your balance will last to completion.
For a new offer, start with the reward you want and compare the whole set of terms. A bonus you decline creates no bonus playthrough to complete. Choose an offer for its usable conditions, then use the calculation to understand the stakes it asks for.
Questions and answers
Why can an x20 bonus require more playthrough than an x35 bonus?
The base matters. In the hypothetical comparison with a €100 deposit and €100 bonus, x20 on deposit plus bonus requires €4,000 of credited turnover; x35 on the bonus alone requires €3,500. Both assume 100% contribution and otherwise identical funding rules. This compares requirements without establishing which offer is more profitable.
How does 20% game contribution change a €3,500 wagering target?
At a constant 20% contribution, only €2 of each eligible €10 stake counts. A €3,500 credited-turnover target therefore requires €17,500 in nominal eligible stakes, compared with €3,500 at 100%. These hypothetical figures describe turnover, not a required deposit or predicted loss.
Can Vavada GET100 spin winnings themselves fund the x20 wagering?
No. The whole amount won from Vavada GET100 spins is the x20 base, but qualifying slot stakes must use real money. Activate the winnings in Bonuses; the locked spin winnings do not fund those stakes. A hypothetical €12 spin win creates €240 of required credited turnover, without promising a win or a euro spin denomination.
